Timeglider link - Disabilities in Education

http://timeglider.com/t/df79e2a0bde4c4ba?min_zoom=1&max_zoom=100

Group members: Alyssa McPherson, Kaitlyn Woods, Marcos Kramser

Journal # 7

Education is such an important aspect of America. Everybody attends school at least up until high school. This is very different from what it was like many years ago. In class we touched on this topic very briefly and watched a video on education back in the day. Education was viewed very differently and women weren’t allowed to go to school. Everyone, however, had to learn to read the bible. Only rich boys, who could afford private school, would continue on their education. That is very different from what the education system is like today.  Although class discussion was brief, I still found this to be extremely interesting. I also found the video that we watched to be informative and eye opening. Educations purpose then, was not what it is now and in a way it makes me happy that things have changed.

I believe that the purpose of education is to teach people how to reach their life goals. As a human being, with life goals, I am so fortunate to have the education system that we have today. Without education, I wouldn’t be a junior in college, preparing to become a teacher, and living out my dream. The changes that were made in the education system have been very beneficial for not only me, but for every person in America who has taken the opportunity to achieve their dreams. John Dewy is a good example of why today’s education is what it is today. He stated that “education was a lifelong process and that the school should be an integral part of community life, a concept that gave support to the development of the community school” (Webb, Metha, & Jordan, 2009, p. 159). Without people like John Dewy, our education system would not be what it is today. It might still be the way it was back in the day when men were the only ones who could attend school.  These changes that were made to the education system have helped me strive to reach my goals.

As a future educator I am glad that the education system has changed to what it is today. I could never imagine not being able to attend school because I am a female. I believe that the purpose of education is to teach people how to reach their life goals. I also believe that every person should have an equal opportunity to learn. In my opinion education plays a huge role in the US today and it is very important to be educated if you want to make it in our world. I want all of my students to succeed and achieve their life goals and I want to make sure that the purpose of education stays. I could never imagine going back to how education used to be and I can only hope that things will continue to go up from here. I truly hope that the purpose of education doesn’t start to lose its meaning. To live in the world we have today people need to be educated. You can’t just get by with knowing the bible anymore because that’s not what people in this generation do. I think that the overall purpose of education in America is to help people strive to better themselves. As a future educator I am going to help my students strive to better themselves and I hope that every other teacher in America has that same mind set too.

Professionalism is a huge role in an educator’s life. One can’t be a good role model, if they aren’t a good person to begin with. Being able to set a good example for other people, and have others look up to you is something that I strive for when I become a teacher. Not only will I push my students to achieve their goals and succeed, I will also strive to teach them the true purpose of education. I want my students to have a good school experience and I want them to believe that the education system is a decent one. If people don’t believe in the education system, then it’s only going to lead to bad outcomes and I don’t want that for any of my future students. My purpose as a teacher is to set a good example for my students, and to display a positive attitude towards education as well as making sure that my students believe in themselves. Although America may be behind on education, I believe that we have come a long way from where we once were. The education system is strong, and continuing to grow (with the few exceptions that have been occurring (especially in NY)). To succeed in this life, you need to have an education. Without and education you won’t be able to make it very far. So in my view, the purpose of education in America is to help better the country as a whole.

 

Work cited:

Webb, L. D., Metha, A., & Jordan, K.F. (2009). Foundations of American education (6th

            ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Journal # 6

 

 The court case my group and I choose was Goss V Lopez and I found the whole case very interesting. I had never heard of the case before so I was excited to research it when we finally decided which one we were going to do. The main thing that stood out to me in this case was the fact that these nine students were suspended, without a hearing, and parent notification, for ten days. I thought that was a huge deal and I can completely understand why this case made it to court. When students break the rules, there are consequences, I understand that, but when the students don’t get the proper process that comes along with the consequences, then I believe they have every right to fight back.

I found this particular thing to be most interesting because I feel like it goes on a lot in schools. Although the students did wrong (and I’m not defending them on that part), they still deserved a proper hearing in which they could have said their side and at least defended themselves. The principle jumped so fast on the issue that parents weren’t even called to be notified that their child was suspended! I would agree that these student’s due process rights were violated and I think that they deserved the proper hearing. However, the state didn’t require a hearing to be held, but as a principle, I would think that he would know the proper thing to do. I just feel like this court case could have been prevented if the principle just gave the students a proper hearing and suspended them under the right terms, even though this case has changed the ways schools act upon disciplinary actions. I was just shocked that the school thought it was fine to suspend these students without a hearing and without parent notification and that they thought they were going to get away with it.

In class we have briefly touched on amendments and student/teacher rights. I would agree with the community that these students fourteenth amendment was violated and that they deserved a proper hearing to conclude their suspension. Student’s rights are a huge deal in schools and if they are violated, problems are going to occur. Schools need to respect students and their rights so that situations like this don’t occur. I’m not saying that what the students did was right, because in no means was their behavior appropriate, but I am saying that they have the right to a proper hearing which would then inform their parents and themselves as to why they are being suspended for ten days. As a teacher I know that I have to respect my student’s rights, and treat them with respect. I would never violate my student’s rights because I would never want my rights to be violated. I was raised to treat people with respect and I would hope that the school I was working for would treat not only their faculty and staff with respect, but also their students.

This court case has taught me so much valuable information. For one, I now had the chance to see what a suspension could do to whole school district. I also had the chance to learn about consequences that could take place in my future school due to the principle being in the wrong. This case became so big and schools have become what they are because of this case. I’m pretty sure that a lot of schools hold hearings for their students if their being suspended for a certain amount of days and parents are notified right away. I know that if my future child was in this situation I would want a fair hearing to discover what really happened. I would also want my child to be fairly punished and I would want to be notified right away, not two days later. This case really opened my eyes and helped me to better understand why hearings are held when students are suspended. I believe that the school should have acted in a more professional manor and they should have handed the situation in a better way. Either way I believe the students should be punished for their consequences, but again, they deserved the proper and most fair way of punishment. Professionalism is everything when working in the education field and I think that the principle acted unprofessional. He should have known better especially because he wasn’t new to the job. However, everyone makes mistakes and learns from them and this mistake went worldwide and has helped to mold our education system into what it is today.